After working on medical cannabis issues for 10 years, I am rarely
shocked by developments in our battle for truth, freedom and compassion.
But the unusual public statement just released from Northern California
U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag has absolutely floored me. Regarding asset
forfeiture proceedings undertaken against the commercial landlord of
America’s largest and most well-known dispensary, Harborside Health
Center in Oakland, Calif., Haag said:

This office has used its limited resources to address
those marijuana dispensaries  that operate close to schools, parks and
playgrounds. As I have said in the past, this is a non-exclusive list of
factors relevant to whether we should commence civil forfeiture actions
against marijuana properties, and circumstances may require us to
address other situations. 

I now find the need to consider actions regarding marijuana
superstores such as Harborside. The larger the operation, the greater
the likelihood that there will be abuse of the state’s medical marijuana
laws, and marijuana in the hands of individuals who do not have a
demonstrated medical need.

This press release demonstrates the U.S. Attorney’s contempt for
needy patients, licensed doctors, and the capabilities of local
officials. But apparently Haag’s disrespect extends to local policing
and public safety.

The statement coincides with an expose
on DEA raids carried out under Haag’s command in Oakland in April.
According to internal emails uncovered by a citizen journalist,
Oakland’s police were not consulted on the action against Oaksterdam
University. As a result, the understaffed force was ill-prepared to
handle large demonstrations, federal agents’ lack of an "exit strategy,"
and the daily crimes that require local police attention. Sapping the
OPD’s strength with a poorly planned raid may even have affected police
response to the Oikos University massacre that occurred the same morning
a few miles away.

As a medical cannabis advocate, I know the impact these actions have on
medical cannabis patients who lose access to their medicine; that is why
I get up every morning to fight this battle. But this development
should wake up every American. In her statement, the U.S. Attorney
questions the fitness of local and state officials to issue permits in
compliance with their own laws, as well as the judgement of licensed
doctors making medical recommendations for their patients. 

Should a U.S. Attorney be allowed to carry out a moral crusade?
Are local and state officials unable to interpret their own laws? Should
cannabis enforcement come at the cost of cities’ public safety?

Last month, Eric Holder testified
to Congress that his policy on medical marijuana is to take action only
against those "operating out of compliance with state laws." With Ms.
Haag taking federal law enforcement to an extreme, by all appearances,
Holder seems unable to control her if he wanted to. To uphold the
administration’s stated policy, there is no other choice: Haag must be
removed from office.

Patients and their advocates say to Attorney General Holder: it is time
to put an end to the medical cannabis crusade and replace Ms. Haag. Join us by signing our petition
with the Courage Campaign telling Holder to be a man of his word and
stop the raids. If you live in Northern California, tell President
Obama’s campaign to take control of his law enforcement officials and
fire Ms. Haag — call them and say, "I want Obama’s administration to
stop raiding dispensaries — fire Melinda Haag!"

President Obama should not underestimate the power of our movement.
The medical cannabis movement survived for eight years under Bush, we
will survive Obama and we can certainly survive under the likes of Mitt
Romney.

Three states said they won’t allow medical marijuana deductions for
food stamp applicants after the U.S. Agriculture Department threatened
to levy penalties.

A memo from the department ordering food-stamp program regional
directors to stop the deductions was sent after The (Portland) Oregonian
contacted the federal agency about it last week. A survey of 17 states
that permit marijuana for medicinal purposes found Oregon, New Mexico
and Maine allowed some applicants to deduct the marijuana’s cost when
applying for the benefit.

Medical marijuana advocates questioned the reasoning for the change, The Oregonian reported Thursday.

"It’s a sad day when we have to see this kind of retreat based on
what appears to be federal pressure and federal intimidation," said Kris
Hermes, a spokesman for Americans for Safe Access, a medical marijuana
advocacy group. "It makes one wonder when the federal government is
going to come around and realize this is indeed a public health issue
and address the problem accordingly."

When determining whether a family qualifies for food stamps in the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Oregon allows applicants to
deduct medical expenses, including the cost of medical marijuana, from
their incomes. Only the elderly or permanently disabled who qualify for
Social Security Disability Insurance could claim the medical marijuana
deductions in Oregon.

State officials told The Oregonian the Agriculture Department memo
said federal law doesn’t recognize any accepted medical use for
marijuana and that non-compliant states could be penalized.

"While we recognize that Oregon voters have declared marijuana to be
medicine, this new guidance from the federal government sets clear
direction on allowable medical expenses under federal law," Oregon
Department of Human Services Director Erinn Kelley-Siel said in an
e-mail to The Oregonian,

American Express already stopped allowing credit card transactions
for medical marijuana, leaving Discover the only way to pay with plastic
for medical marijuana.

That, advocates say, leaves patients with decreased access to
treatment and forces dispensaries to deal with the challenges

Oregon and two other states will no longer allow certain food stamp
applicants to deduct medical marijuana expenses from their incomes after
federal officials threatened the states with penalties.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a nationwide memo to regional directors of the food stamp program, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, after The Oregonian contacted the agency about the practice last week.
The newspaper surveyed 17 states that permit marijuana for medicinal
use and found three

If you’re about ready to refill your supply of medical marijuana, you might want to stop by an ATM first.

In the past few days, a number of Bay Area dispensaries have told their clients that from now on it’s cash only, because Visa and MasterCard aren’t allowing their cards to be used for marijuana purchases anymore.

"Visa
and MasterCard are now refusing to accept your credit card charges for
your medicine at many Bay Area dispensaries. We are working diligently
to address this issue quickly," Vapor Room, a Haight Street dispensary, told members Sunday.

Harborside Health Center in
Oakland sent its patients a similar message, blaming a "continuing
federal threat of seizure against financial institutions."

In
fact, Harborside, the largest medical marijuana dispensary in the
country, is facing a federal seizure threat of its own. On Wednesday, it
was served notice from the U.S. attorney’s office in San Francisco that
its facilities in Oakland and San Jose are subject to forfeiture
because they are being used to "distribute and cultivate marijuana."

Although
marijuana for medical use is legal in 17 states plus the District of
Columbia, it remains verboten as far as federal law, and the feds
continue to take a dim view of commerce surrounding the practice.

"This
has been going on for at least two years, with major financial
institutions purging medical marijuana dispensaries from their
transactions," said Kris Hermes, a spokesman for Americans for Safe Access, a national advocacy group based in Oakland.

For its part, San Francisco’s Visa said Wednesday, "Visa has not
changed its policy. Our policy is that Visa cards should only be used in
connection with legal transactions. We do not allow the Visa payment
system to be used for any illegal activity and have banned illegal
transactions on Visa cards. Merchant banks, also known as acquirers, are
responsible for ensuring that their merchant customers comply with all
applicable laws."

Calls and e-mails to MasterCard were not returned.

Turned away at banks: Hermes said that the dispensaries are also having trouble finding a bank that will take their business. Bank of America, Citibank and JPMorgan Chase are reported to have closed off their teller windows to the businesses, as has San Francisco’s Wells Fargo, which up until last year was offering accounts to local dispensaries.

"In
view of the complex, inconsistent legal environment relating to medical
marijuana dispensaries, Wells Fargo Regional Banking has opted not to
bank these businesses," the bank said last year. "The policy extends to
all medical marijuana dispensaries, and … we have advised all such
businesses that bank with us that they will need to close their deposit
accounts. Additionally, it has been our policy not to provide merchant
card processing services to businesses of this type."

That means Wells Fargo debit cards can’t be used either, which comes as an additional blow to the dispensaries. Meanwhile, Square,
the San Francisco mobile payments platform, is also cracking down on
dispensaries that use its service. "Dispensaries are a violation of our
terms of service. We have and will continue to shut down any users who
do not follow the rules," Square said Wednesday.

Deaf ears: Responding to the concerns raised by the banks, 15 members of Congress, including Reps. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose, Pete Stark, D-Fremont, Sam Farr, D-Monterey – oh, and Ron Paul, R-Texas – asked U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner in
May 2010 to assure financial institutions "whose account holders are
involved in a business ostensibly operating in compliance with a state
medical marijuana law," that they would not be targeted by the
department. Two years on and Geithner has yet to respond.

Earlier, in October 2009, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder issued
a memo telling U.S. attorneys around the country they "should not focus
federal resources in your states on individuals whose actions are in
clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws providing for
the medical use of marijuana."

The congressional appeals and Obama
administration memos appear to have had little effect. Besides the
threat of foreclosure, Harborside, for example, is embroiled in a $2.5
million dispute with the IRS over a claim the dispensary illegally
deducted business expenses such as payroll taxes, rent, health insurance
and workers’ compensation, because it was involved in what the IRS
labeled "the trafficking of controlled substances."

All this
means that legalized medical marijuana businesses are having to conduct
transactions in the same way as those who traffic in the substance
illegally – in cold, hard cash. Some dispensaries already have ATMs in
their offices, but that doesn’t lessen the potential criminal hazards.

"Dispensaries
are now having to deal with large amounts of cash," said Hermes.
"That’s not to say security at the facilities aren’t adequate, but it
does put them at greater risk of being robbed. These are issues everyone
is struggling with."

An appeal of the federal conviction of former Morro Bay medical
marijuana dispensary owner Charles C. Lynch has been joined by a
national advocacy organization.

Oakland-based Americans for Safe Access (ASA) filed an amicus